Friday, 6th February, 2026 – As India’s retail ecosystem expands deeper into Tier-2 and Tier-3 markets, the gap between online discovery and offline commerce execution has become one of the most persistent challenges for multi-location brands. While digital ads, listings, and visibility continue to grow, translating that attention into measurable footfall, inventory-led fulfilment, and real store-level sales remains elusive for many enterprises. In an exclusive interaction with Ankitt Y, Editor, Entrepreneur News Network , Rakesh Raghuvanshi, Founder & CEO of Sekel Tech, breaks down how hyperlocal orchestration, real-time data, and operational synchronisation are redefining omni-commerce in India. He shares candid insights on building infrastructure-led SaaS, scaling across fragmented markets, and why the future of local discovery will be driven by intent, inventory, and intelligence—not just visibility.
Q- Sekel operates at the intersection of online discovery and offline commerce. What problem were you personally trying to solve when you started the company, and why did this space feel urgent to you?
Rakesh Raghuvanshi – When I started Sekel, the frustration was very specific. Brands were spending heavily on digital discovery, ads, listings, and visibility, but there was no reliable way to connect that activity to what actually happened at the store level. Inventory, demand, promotions, and marketing were operating in silos. For a country like India, where retail is deeply local and behaviour can change every few kilometres, this disconnect was creating massive inefficiencies. The urgency came from seeing multi-location brands expand aggressively into Tier-2 and Tier-3 markets using tools designed for far more homogeneous geographies.
Q -India’s retail and local commerce ecosystem is deeply fragmented. What were the earliest resistance points you faced while convincing brands to invest in hyperlocal and omni-commerce solutions?
Rakesh Raghuvanshi –The earliest resistance was mindset-driven. Many brands were comfortable thinking at city or state level because that’s how legacy enterprise systems worked. Hyperlocal sounded complex and operationally risky. There was also scepticism about whether pin-code-level orchestration could be executed at scale. What eventually shifted the conversation was showing that fragmentation already existed; brands were just absorbing the cost silently through wasted ad spend, poor stock alignment, and underperforming locations.
Q -Several platforms talk about driving ‘local visibility’. What does Sekel do differently when it comes to converting digital discovery into real, measurable footfall and sales?
Rakesh Raghuvanshi – Most platforms stop at visibility metrics. Sekel focuses on orchestration. We connect digital discovery directly to real-time inventory availability, demand signals, and promotion execution at the location level. That means ads are not just shown where people are, but where stock exists, demand is predicted, and stores can fulfil. The outcome we track is not impressions, but leads converted into visits and sales.
Q -Multi-location brands struggle with consistency across digital touchpoints. From your experience, what is the biggest mistake brands make while managing local presence at scale?
Rakesh Raghuvanshi –The biggest mistake is treating local presence as a marketing problem rather than an operational one. Brands often try to standardise messaging without accounting for location-specific inventory, demand, and context. This creates inconsistency because the promise made online cannot be fulfilled offline. Consistency comes from synchronisation, not from uniformity.
Q – Data accuracy and trust are critical in hyperlocal ecosystems. How does Sekel ensure reliability of location data while operating across thousands of stores and partners?
Rakesh Raghuvanshi –Reliability comes from reducing manual dependency. Sekel’s platform integrates directly with enterprise systems like ERP, point-of-sale, and warehouse management systems. This allows location data, inventory levels, and demand signals to update in near real time. When data flows automatically from operational systems rather than through manual uploads or spreadsheets, accuracy improves significantly.
Q -Can you share an example where Sekel’s platform directly impacted a brand’s offline performance, not just visibility metrics?
Rakesh Raghuvanshi – A Tier-1 automotive tyre retailer with over 150 locations used Sekel’s pin-code cluster targeting for eight months. By shifting from city-level targeting to pin-code-level orchestration, they achieved an 11 percent lead conversion rate compared to the industry average of 3 to 4 percent. Customer acquisition costs dropped by 60 percent, and foot traffic to underperforming Tier-2 locations increased by 240 percent. This was driven by aligning ads, inventory, and demand at the micro-market level rather than broad geography.
Q -The SaaS space is crowded and competitive. What has been your biggest strategic inflection point as a founder?
Rakesh Raghuvanshi –The biggest inflection point was deciding to stop building tools that solved individual problems and instead build a unified platform. Early on, it became clear that visibility, inventory, demand forecasting, and promotions cannot be solved independently. The decision to unify these layers into a single system fundamentally changed Sekel’s trajectory and the kind of enterprises we could serve.
Q – As AI, voice search and real-time commerce gain momentum, how do you see the future of local discovery evolving in the next five years?
Rakesh Raghuvanshi –Local discovery will become increasingly intent-driven and real-time. Customers will expect answers that reflect availability, proximity, and relevance instantly. AI will play a major role in predicting demand and matching it with supply at the micro level. The brands that win will be those that treat local discovery as infrastructure, not as a campaign.
Q – Looking back, what lessons from building Sekel would you share with founders attempting to solve complex, infrastructure-level problems in India’s digital economy?
Rakesh Raghuvanshi –Infrastructure problems require patience and depth. Quick wins are rare, and adoption takes time because you are changing how systems work together. The key lesson is to stay close to operational reality. If your product cannot survive real-world complexity, scale will only magnify its flaws. Building for India means designing for diversity, fragmentation, and constant change.
Ruchi Kumar is the associate editor at Entrepreneur News Network and TVW News India, where she leads editorial strategy, brand storytelling, and startup ecosystem coverage. With a strong focus on innovation, business, and marketing insights, he curates impactful narratives that spotlight India’s evolving entrepreneurial landscape.